The world´s second largest supplier of precision components for the mobile telephone industry, Balda (D-32549 Bad Oeynhausen; www.balda.de), increased its operating profit (EBIT) by 95% in the first half of 2004 to EUR 17.3m and widened sales by 45% to EUR 158m. The company said its own growth outpaced that of the mobile phone market. As part of its strategy to operate its own production facilities in the world´s key growth markets, Balda is setting up a 50:50 joint venture, Balda-Lumberg Brasil, at Manaus / Brazil, with the Lumberg group (D-58579 Schalksmühle; www.lumberg.de). The partners are jointly acquiring 100% of Intesys Metagal da Amazonia Indústria e Comercio Ltda (Manaus / Brazil; www.intesys-metagal.com.br).

Intesys, like Balda, produces plastic components for the mobile phone industry. In 2003, it employed 350 people and had sales of well over USD 50m. The company has its own mouldmaking and injection moulding facilities, along with clean-room capacities, painting systems for surface finishing and assembly facilities at two locations within Brazil. It also operates sites in the US, Mexico, Ireland and China.

The Lumberg group, with around 2,500 employees worldwide and sales expected to total EUR 500m this year, specialises in stamping and pressing, injection moulding and assembly technology. It also has its own electronics development department. For communications technology, the group supplies all-in system components, connectors and antennas. Other target markets are household appliances, automation and automotive engineering.

Production sites are in Germany, China, the US and Singapore. Apart from its five German locations, Balda operates production facilities in China and Malaysia and has two development centres in Norway and the US. It recently sold a 25% stake in its Balda Mikron joint venture to Taiwan-based Everskill (Tuchen / Taipei Hsien). – see PIE 10, 2004.